


Newton's Laws of Motion

by carinacove



Category: Mercy Thompson Series - Patricia Briggs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-12-20
Updated: 2008-12-20
Packaged: 2018-01-25 05:56:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1635158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carinacove/pseuds/carinacove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mercy's got a new neighbor, and is not exactly thrilled.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Newton's Laws of Motion

**Author's Note:**

> When I signed up for Yuletide, I will admit that this was the fandom I was hoping to get tagged for. Tani's request was for something pre-series, involving either Mercy meeting Zee or her first experience with Adam as a neighbor. I couldn't resist having it be Adam, and I also couldn't resist working in a few of my other favourites!  
> Title credit goes to my girl Brix, who is an effing lifesaver, because I fail at naming. Biggest of thanks to my sister, who got me into these books to start with and then pulled nitpick/beta/canon referencing duty. I did more editing after sending this to her, so any remaining suck is mine.  
> This was my first year doing Yuletide, and I've had a lot of fun with it. I hope anyone reading this has had fun, too!
> 
> Written for Tani

 

 

Since I tend to be an early riser, the construction next door didn't bother me any - at least not in the way construction is usually bothersome. The crew started every day well after I left for Zee's garage, and were already packed and gone when I came home every night. In fact if not for the steadily growing house (still mostly in skeletal form) appearing bit by bit on the land beside mine, I'd have been completely unaware of the work at all.

It was a nice-looking house, or it seemed like it would be, anyway. It looked like more of a mansion, actually, and it seemed like a lot of planning had gone into the design. But what was bothering me was the proximity. The land was desirable, plenty of room to build on and overlooking the river besides, so it wasn't surprising that someone would want to build such an expansive house there. But it seemed to loom over my comparatively tiny trailer, encroaching on my home like a low-lying storm cloud.

I'm not very territorial by nature. Coyotes aren't, mostly, and having been raised with werewolves - who very much are - I'd gotten used to staying out of those kinds of fights. I could get confrontational, in my own way, about some things, but sharing space wasn't one of them.

But it was hard to stay out of that kind of fight when someone else was bringing it to me.

The house belonged to a werewolf. I hadn't met him yet, but he'd clearly been to visit the site at some point when I wasn't at home. That visit, though brief, had included a walk around the ground of his new property, and that was more than enough to leave the scent of a very dominant Alpha all over the scrub between my home and his. As he, no doubt, had been able to smell me. There were ten acres separating the new house itself and my trailer, with more than half of those now belonging to him, and in the past, I'd felt perfectly free to use that land for running and, occasionally, hunting. Scent alone might not tell him precisely what I was but he would know, at least, that I was no ordinary coyote.

When I'd moved to the Tri-Cities, it had been partly the lack of a local pack that had drawn me. Though it had been a few years since I'd left Aspen Creek, I still wasn't really in the mood to throw myself in the middle of another established werewolf territory. There were different sorts of otherworldly creatures to be dealt with here, but none brought the more personal sting of memory with them. And some, like Zee, had even become friends.

I didn't object to a pack moving into the area now; with a few more years of healing between me and Aspen Creek, it was easier to be neutral, and almost optimistic. My reasons for distancing myself from werewolves weren't due to any particular dislike of them generally speaking, and I was pretty comfortable with dealing with them and confident that we'd be able to keep out of each other's way, which is more than can be said of some of the other night creatures out there. Except, of course, that this new Alpha had already started his dominant posturing, making keeping my distance downright impossible. I didn't want to deal with that kind of macho bullshit, and a good Alpha shouldn't need it anyway. And I definitely didn't want to deal with a bad Alpha, or his pack.

"Damn it," I swore, barely resisting the urge to kick the bumper of the car I was currently elbow-deep in. Thinking about this was making me angry, and distracting me. I'd just managed to break a rusty old bolt in the process of attempting to unscrew it gently. And I hadn't even met the man yet- who knew how much worse it would be once he actually moved in?

"We are in the business of fixing cars, Mercy, not breaking them further, ja?" Zee said mildly from somewhere on the opposite side of the garage. He'd already heard me swearing about my new neighbor for the last three days, ever since the morning after I'd first come home to the scent of a strange wolf along the edge of my property. Fortunately Zee hadn't kicked me out of work yet; normally, working on an engine was one of the only ways to really clear my head. It just didn't seem to be working quite as well today.

I sighed and stepped back, removing myself from under the hood of the '76 Volkswagen Derby I'd been taking apart. It was nowhere near as gorgeous as the '62 Karmann Ghia Zee was working on, but it still didn't deserve the kind of mistreatment I was giving it in my current state of mind. Which was exactly why Zee wasn't letting me near the Ghia. "You should appreciate when I'm like this," I told him. "It means you'll get cookies tomorrow. Or pie." Stress baking was my other form of head-clearing, though I didn't think it would work any better than my current efforts. It led to more delicious results, though. 

Zee grunted in response. "I would rather have my competent assistant back."

"Not if the pie's pecan, you wouldn't."

He grunted again, but it was the kind that meant I was right and he didn't want to admit it. I grinned to myself, turning back to the Derby. I'd have to go shopping after work; I wasn't sure I actually had any pecans at home, and Zee deserved something nice for putting up with my bad behavior these past few days.

An hour or so passed in relative quiet as we both worked. Zee muttered to himself occasionally, and I could hear Tad in the office, clacking away at the computer keyboard, probably working on a paper for school. And then I heard the purr of a running engine - something modern, quiet, and far more expensive than anything Zee's usual clients drove.

I turned to look out the door of the garage to see a sleek Mercedes M-Class pulling up to park by the office door. A glance at Zee, who had turned around as well, showed me that he was clearly thinking the same thing I was. We did get Mercedes in occasionally, usually older models, but this clearly wasn't a car in need of work. Zee nodded his head in the direction of the door, gesturing for me to go see what was up; part of what he'd hired me for was the whole dealing-with-people thing, after all.

Instead of cutting through the office, I went out through the garage doors. It didn't look very professional, but if these were just some rich tourists looking to get directions, I didn't want them interrupting Tad from his homework for no reason.

The woman climbing out of the passenger-side door didn't look much like a rich tourist, though. In fact, she looked more like someone you'd see in a spousal abuse PSA, and my eyes narrowed instinctively as they snapped to the man getting out of the driver's side. And then I caught his scent, and my eyes widened again. 

So this was my new mystery neighbor. _Damn, damn, damn._ An overly aggressive Alpha, especially one prone to abusing his entirely human wife, would most definitely require the attention of the Marrok. My original annoyance over boundary issues had suddenly become much worse, and more complicated, than I could've guessed.

Before I could start working myself up over my new set of problems, though, the woman caught sight of me. She looked relieved, and started towards me immediately. I could smell the nervousness on her, though none of it had anything to do with me; she seemed like someone who was running somewhere, on edge as if she was ready to take off at any moment.

"Oh, thank goodness," she was saying as she moved towards me. "Please - do you have a tow truck?"

I blinked, probably looking like an idiot. It certainly wasn't what I'd expected to be asked, and I couldn't help but glance at the car, where the man - werewolf - was still standing. She caught where I was looking, and laughed a little, seeming to relax a bit. "Not for that one, sorry, I meant mine. It's still out on the highway - Adam was kind enough to give my girls and I a ride, but there wasn't much to be done for the Jetta and we - I -" She stopped, eyes suddenly filling with tears as the scent of distress got stronger. _Oh_ , I thought, as she said in a somewhat more strangled voice, "We need to keep moving."

"We've got a tow company we work with, and you're welcome to wait here as long as you need." I glanced back at the werewolf - Adam, apparently - and he moved closer, obviously having heard the entire conversation. "There's coffee inside, if you'd like. And pop for the girls - maybe juice, too. I'll be along in just a minute and call the tow truck for you."

She smiled at me, only a little watery as she pulled herself together again. "Thank you," she said. "I'm Shannon, by the way."

"Mercy," I answered, not wanting to get into the `Mercedes the mechanic' thing with a Mercedes sitting right there. "Tad's in the office, he'll help you get the coffee. And Zee's in the garage - he's the boss, I'll go let him know you're here." Well, I would - after I had a second to talk to my new neighbor, who was now standing a few feet away from us, clearly waiting for a chance to talk to me himself. Shannon thanked me, then headed back towards the car to get her girls, leaving me alone for the moment with the mysterious Adam.

So apparently he wasn't a wife-beating overly aggressive asshole, but instead a Good Samaritan with, it seemed, remarkable self-control. Most werewolves, particularly dominant ones, wouldn't have wanted to wait by the car for anything at all, but it was obvious that the last thing Shannon needed right now was a man controlling things for her. That he'd been able to respect that made me immediately more receptive towards him, and I took a moment to look at him properly for the first time.

He was striking - not just the lure of an Alpha, which was definitely apparent now that he was so close, but by human standards as well. Dark hair, dark eyes, sharp features; like something out of Hollywood, really - I dropped my eyes hastily, realizing how long I'd been looking. _Smart, Mercedes. Challenge the new Alpha to a staring contest. Way to make an impression._

When I glanced up again, I noticed he was smirking, which immediately made me scowl. "Adam Hauptman," he said, sounding amused, and put out his hand to shake.

"Mercedes Thompson," I answered, taking his proffered hand and hoping it wasn't completely obvious how startled I was - though judging by the way his smirk deepened, that was a wasted bit of hoping. So the mystery werewolf was Adam Hauptman. That made things interesting again, though nowhere near as complicated as the previous mess I'd imagined. He'd probably known what - and who - I was the moment he'd caught my scent on his property the other day. I'd never met him, but I'd heard of him, as I was sure he'd heard of me. "Nice house," I added, tone as mild as I could make it. Which wasn't very, considering he was still smirking at me.

"Thank you," he said, politely enough and clearly entertained by my cranky undertone. He looked away towards the garage, where I could still hear Zee working; behind him, Shannon was helping her younger daughter out of her car seat as the older daughter stood close by, looking almost as hunted as Shannon herself. "Nice garage," Adam added, bringing my attention back to him. Not that he was particularly easy to ignore.

I knew he'd heard me tell Shannon that Zee was the boss, but I said "It isn't mine," just the same. "I should get Zee, and call that tow truck." I didn't move yet, though. Instead I stood a moment, watching Shannon go inside with her girls, then looked back to Adam once they were gone. "I don't plan on moving."

He raised an eyebrow. "I certainly wouldn't expect you to. You were here first, after all." There was no way he could possibly know that this had been one of my frequent petty complaints the past few days, when I'd been bitching about my mystery neighbor. But I was grateful my complexion wasn't prone to flushing, or I would probably look a sight at the moment. "I'll make sure the pack stays clear of you," he added when I didn't respond immediately.

My gut reaction was to say that I didn't need him to look after me, that I was perfectly capable of avoiding the werewolves myself. But there was stubborn, and then there was stupid. I had no idea what his pack was like, and if any of them were of a mind to hunt me down, there was little to no chance that I'd win. Werewolves are much bigger and much, much stronger than I am, and speed can only do so much in a fight. It would be better not to fight at all. I considered telling Adam I appreciated it, but dismissed that thought quickly. "And I'll stay clear of them," I said instead, and then added a pointed, "As much as I'm able, anyway."

His smirk turned, briefly, into a grin. "I'm sure they won't pull up at the wrong house by mistake."

"Ha," I said dryly, then looked back at the office door. "Zee. Tow truck. And there's enough coffee for you, too, if you wanted to wait with her."

"Thank you, yes." He turned to fall into step beside me as I headed for the office. "She's on her way to her mother's. I think they'll be alright. She won't let you fix her car for nothing, though." I glanced sideways at him, surprised. Bran had always seemed to be able to read minds, but I'd never heard of it being an Alpha trait. He glanced back at me with a bit of a smile. "Anyone would've been thinking the same thing. Anyone with eyes, at least."

In the end, it didn't matter; it wasn't up to me how much repairs cost, and if Zee didn't feel like charging someone, he wouldn't, and that was that. Since the repairs would take at least a day, I pointed Shannon in the direction of a nearby motel. Adam had offered to bring her the rest of the way to her mother's, but she had staunchly refused; she'd agreed to let him bring her, her girls, and their luggage over to the motel, though.

Once we'd finished moving the luggage from Shannon's car to Adam's, he turned to me, putting his hand out again. "It was good to meet you, Ms Thompson." His voice was polite, but I was pretty sure I could still see that smirk itching to come out.

I shook his hand anyway, not entirely unable to keep back a smile myself. "You can call me Mercedes. And it was... good to meet you, too." Interesting, anyway. "Oh - I have a cat," I said abruptly, suddenly remembering.

"I noticed." Well, of course he had; Medea wandered over his property as freely as I had. "I will endeavor to control myself." And there was that smirk. I was tempted to grumble, but instead said goodbye, giving Shannon a wave as she climbed into the car and I headed back for the garage.

Zee was already working again, and muttering in German. I could still hear Tad in the office, though since he'd been showing it off to Shannon's older daughter, I now knew he was actually playing on a virtual pet site online. I paused a moment, listening to the familiar sounds, and smiled. "That could've been worse," I said, getting only a grunt in reply, which was about what I'd expected. "And look - my mood's cleared up." 

To prove it, I went back to where I'd left off on the Derby. Adam hadn't been so bad, really. Undoubtedly someone who cared a lot about control, which could get annoying but would at least mean that his pack wouldn't be full of renegades. Might make for an obnoxious neighbor, though. And if that borderline-smug amusement was his default state it could get old fast. Not to mention that no matter how polite he'd seemed, he'd still built his house directly next to me when probably already knowing exactly who I was. Controlling his wolves was one thing, but if he started getting any ideas about including me in that group - "Son of a _bitch_ ," I said as I snapped another rusty bolt.

"Pecan pie," Zee reminded me, not looking away from his work.

As soon as I got the pie into the oven later that night, I called Warren. Up until now, Warren had been the only werewolf I knew of in the Tri-Cities; a lone wolf, and a good friend. I'd been trying not to complain to him too much about my neighbor issues, since I wasn't sure how a pack moving into town would affect him, but apparently I hadn't been downplaying it quite enough because the first words out of his mouth were, "So how's your drama?"

I couldn't help but grin as I settled into the couch, scratching Medea between the ears as she immediately settled on my lap. After a good bit of baking, with Medea being her affectionate self and Warren to make me smile, it was easier to be positive. "Less drama, hopefully. I met him today."

"So? And? What's he like?"

"He seems..." I paused, a bit reluctantly, but it was undeniable. "He seems like a good man. Control freak, very dominant, but... trustworthy. Friendly, in a polite sort of way."

Warren's grin was obvious in his voice. "He's hot, isn't he."

It got the laugh he'd intended. "If you like that sort of thing, maybe."

"Which sort of thing would that be?"

"You know. Tall, dark, handsome. That." It was his turn to laugh. "And married, did I mention the married? He was wearing a ring."

He tsked. "Shame. Would've been convenient."

"There's no 'would've been,' married or not. No more dating werewolves for me, thank you. I'm sure there are plenty of perfectly nice human men to be found around here."

"Yeah, well, you let me know if you find any. But as for Adam... you think he won't pick fights?"

I paused, giving it due consideration. Did Adam seem the type to pick fights? Not big ones, certainly. Maybe just to provoke me, which I was willing to admit could be easily done in the right circumstances. And I would also admit, at least to myself, that it was in my own nature to pick that kind of fight - so between the two of us, I didn't doubt that neighborly relations could occasionally get strained. And I still had no idea what the rest of the pack would be like, and how well he'd be able to keep them from picking fights with me. 

But none of that was what Warren was asking, and it also wasn't most of what I'd been worrying about before today. "No. He's a good man, and he seems reasonable. We might clash a bit but I don't think it will be anything bad. It should just be... interesting."

Very, very definitely interesting. 

 


End file.
